The present invention relates generally to activities and parts management. Specifically, the present invention relates to the monitoring of assembly and maintenance activities, and the tracking of parts used during these assembly and maintenance activities.
The ever growing popularity of commercial air travel often places the issue of airline safety in the spotlight. A safety issue important to commercial, military, and general aviation (GA), involves the use of unapproved parts in aircraft.
Federal regulations require the use of approved parts in aircraft. The regulations provide that an aircraft is not airworthy if an unapproved part is used. The FAA Administrator approves parts when a manufacturer can establish, to the satisfaction of the Administrator, that the part meets certain minimum requirements. The Administrator, for example, may require a specific manufacturing process or may require the inspection of a part after a given number of flight hours.
Unapproved parts, sometimes referred to as bogus parts, can be parts that either do not meet the minimum requirements for airworthiness, have exceeded their allowable lifetime, or are improperly reused. The cost of producing unapproved parts can be significantly less than producing approved parts, thus providing an attractive alternative to some individuals. The possible results of using unapproved parts, however, can be devastating.
One example of the potential hazards of using unapproved parts occurred on Sep. 8, 1989, over the North Sea. A turboprop aircraft on a charter from Oslo, Norway, to Hamburg, Germany, xe2x80x9cbroke upxe2x80x9d during flight (killing all fifty-five people on board). The tail section of the aircraft began shaking violently and eventually broke loose. Investigators determined the cause of the malfunction to be the use of bogus bolts, brackets and bushings.
The unapproved parts problem is of particular concern outside the United States where regulations and standards are generally more lax. Even the U.S. aerospace industry, however, faces the problem of policing the use of unapproved parts. Acting on a tip in 1991, the FAA ordered all airlines using a particular jet engine to check for bogus parts. Numerous domestic and foreign air carriers turned in over one-thousand parts that were suspected of being unapproved parts. Luckily, these parts were removed before any incidents or accidents occurred.
The FAA has been active in educating the aerospace industry regarding the use of unapproved parts in aircraft. The FAA has, for example, held numerous seminars and symposiums; opened a suspected unapproved parts hot line; and notified manufacturers regarding the necessary FAA permits required to produce aircraft parts. In 1995, the FAA also unveiled an industry-operated accreditation program for aircraft parts brokers and distributors.
The aforementioned activities, although necessary, do not prevent the physical placement of unapproved parts on aircraft. There currently is no acceptable methodology for monitoring the assembly and maintenance of aircraft and aircraft components and tracking the parts used during assembly and maintenance activities. Clearly, there is room for such an improvement in the art.
Therefore, it is an object of the present invention to manage activities and the parts used in these activities.
It is a further object of the present invention to monitor assembly and maintenance activities.
It is a further object of the present invention to track parts used during assembly and maintenance activities.
It is a further object of the present invention to monitor aircraft assembly and aircraft maintenance activities.
It is a further object of the present invention to track parts used during aircraft assembly and aircraft maintenance activities.
It is a further object of the present invention to track the mechanics that perform the aircraft assembly and maintenance activities.
These and other objects are achieved in one aspect of the current invention by a computer-implemented method of managing an inventory of vehicles and parts associated with the vehicles using a central computer system and at least one remote computer system operatively connected to the central computer by a communications link for the exchange of data therebetween. The method comprises the steps of: inputting to the remote computer system information related to each vehicle; communicating the vehicle information to the central computer; storing the vehicle information in a master parts file and a maintenance parts file; comparing the vehicle information with information of other vehicles in the maintenance parts file; signaling an alarm if a discrepancy exists between the vehicle information and the data of other vehicles in the maintenance parts file; inputting to the remote computer system information related to maintenance of a vehicle; communicating the maintenance information to the central computer; comparing the parts added part numbers with an overall parts list (Bill of Materials (BOM)) file of the vehicle; activating an alarm if an improper use or attempted improper use is detected; comparing the parts added serial numbers with those of other vehicles in the maintenance parts files; signaling an alarm if a discrepancy exists between the parts added serial numbers and the maintenance parts file data of the other vehicles; updating the master parts file; updating the maintenance parts file; inputting to the remote computer information related to the manufacture or refurbishing of aircraft parts; communicating the aircraft parts information to the central computer; and storing the aircraft parts information in a universal parts file.